BEYOND  THE  PANAMA 

BUENOS  AIRES 


Buenos  Aires 


Tlie  city  is  the  metrojxjlis  of  Ar»'eiitiiia,  liaviii<>’  a i)()i)ulatioii  of  one  and  a lialf 
millions,  and  is  the  Key  City  of  South  America.  It  is  one  of  the  most  proo-ressive  cities 
ot  the  American  continent.  Fdectric  street  car  lines  lead  to  all  parts  of  the  city.  The 
busy  wharves  despatch  millions  of  tons  of  merchandise. 

Agenting 

Idle  reiniblic  of  Aro-entina  has  been  known  as  the  land  of  the  jiainjias.  With  its 
untold  herds  of  cattle  it  feeds  the  markets  of  the  nations  and  jiroduces  leather  which  sus- 
tains the  tread  of  many  iieojiles  afar  off'.  It  has  wheat  enouo’h  to  siqiply  the  whole  world. 
Besides  this,  the  snow-cajiped  mountains  jiroduce  abundant  mineral  wealtli.  ^0,4-0"2  miles 
of  railroad  are  built,  leadin'^  to  all  parts  of  the  nation,  and  climbino’  their  way  across  the 
Andes  to  the  western  coast  of  Chile.  Tlie  natural  features  produce  beauty  unsurpassed  in 
tlie  world  ; the  waterfalls  rank  with  those  of  Africa  and  North  America  in  wonder. 

Races 

d'lie  peojiles  of  Argentina  are  many.  (lathered  in  Buenos  Aires  are  representatives 
of  thirty  nations.  Amono-  those  from  abroad  are  Eno’lish,  German,  Italian,  American, 
Scandinavian,  Spanish  and  French.  The  Siianiards  were  the  earlier  settlers  of  the  country 
and  their  lan^uao'e  is  the  most  universally  used.  En^disli  is  now  commercially  po|)ular  and 
educated  jieople  employ  French  mucli  in  intercourse.  In  addition  to  tlie  rac*es  mentioned. 


A Vista  in  a City  Park 


tliere  is  a considerable  i)()i)ulation  of  the 
orio’inal  inliabitants — the  South  Amer- 
ican Indians. 

Patriotism 

Orio’inall  y a country  of  lar<>:e 
landliolders,  the  Si)aniards  were  accus- 
tomed to  a i)aterna]  life  whose  intellec- 
tual ideal  found  its  expression  in  study 
of  the  i)rofessions.  Ib’itish  mereliants 
and  later,  (iermans  in  lai’^’e  numbers, 
made  extensi^e  investments  in  mines 
and  railroads  and  now  have  larne  inter- 
ests in  the  c’ommeiXMal  aeti\ ities  of  the 
nation.  In  Ai'jxentina , as  in  all  the 
countries  of  the  world,  thei’c  is  at  pres- 
ent develoi)in<>:  a strono-  national  eon- 
seiousness  whieli  is  brino-iiio-  the  Aro-en- 
tines — that  is,  th<>se  born  in  Arn-entina 
— into  the  places  of  power  and  induenee. 
A c’ompulsory  military  ser\  ic*e  includes 


all  Aro-entine  citizens.  The  trend 
in  educational  lines  is  to  employ 
Aro-entine  teachers. 

Social 

The  social  life  in  South 
American  cities  cannot  be  defined 
as  dissimilar  from  that  of  Euro- 
pean society  elsewhere.  Matters 
of  dress  and  custom  are  very  analo- 
o-OLis  to  those  of  the  Northern 
hemisphere  and  there  exist  only 
the  variations  due  to  latitude  and 
Cathedral  a rapidly  evolvino-  citizenship 

peculiar  to  South  America.  Alle- 
t^iance  to  the  established  church  is  nominal.  Social  life,  owino-  to  the  laxit}'  in  personal 
moral  fiber,  is  much  restricted.  Chaperonaffe  of  youno’  people  is  insisted  upon,  and  the 
lack  of  sound  teachino-  underlying’  the  social  structure  is  much  deplored. 


Education 

One  of  the  chief  sources  of  the  rapid  and  si)lendid  develo])ment  in  Buenos  Aires 
lias  been  tlie  extent  of  the  educational  nmvement,  there  being  many  government  schools. 


Miss  Cortez,  Secretary 


j)ub]ic  and  j)i‘ivale  scliools  iunnl)eriii^‘ 
a laro’e  women's  normal  seliool  and 
an  admission  of  women  to  the  university 
eourses.  In  Aroentina  one-tentli  of  the 
total  national  expenditure  is  for  educa- 
tion. The  oldest  university  was  founded 
in  Kil  l.  'i'he  eurrieulum  of  the  univer- 
sities is  exaetino- and  of  a hioh  standard. 
There  are  Kno-lish  schools  for  o-irls  in 
Buenos  Aires. 

Business  Conditions 

The  rapidity  of  material  pi‘(»^i’ess 
has  led  to  the  employment  of  a la]‘<2,e 
numbei’  of  women  in  shops  and  ottiees, 
d'here  is  a demand  also  for  teaehino-  in 
families  and  select  schools,  eonse(piently 
a lai-o’c  number  of  women  are  attracted 
from  Europe  and  even  from  the  United 
States  to  enter  these  openings.  The 
noon  hour  is  of  two  hours'  duration,  at 


'which  time  tlie  sh()])s  are  locked  and  youn<>-  'women  are  oblitred  to  find  a jdace  for  recrea- 
tion outside  the  place  of  em])loyment.  It  is  rare  for  a shoj)  in  Buenos  Aires  to  have  a rest 
room  for  its  emj)loyees. 


Young  Women's  Christian  Association 

The  oro-anization  was  established  in  1890  by  the  British  ladies  resident  in  the  port. 

With  the  comino-  of  large  numbers 
of  foreign  youno-  women  to  Argen- 
tina ignorant  of  the  i)erils  of  life 
in  a strange  country  and  in  need 
of  friendly  counsel  and  safe  envi- 
ronment, it  was  decided  to  reor- 
ganize the  work  on  a larger  scale. 
The  first  American  secretary  'was 
Miss  E.  Jean  Batty  who  was  sent 
in  1900,  su]3])orted  by  the  Associa- 
tions of  Minneapolis,  Penns^vlvania, 
Delaware  and  Maryland. 

Encouragement 

Since  the  opening  of  the 
work,  business  men,  consuls,  rail- 


Reading  and  Rest  Room 


road  authorities,  doctors  and  c*ler«)’Dieii,  ship  companies,  steamship  otfic‘ia]s,  all  ha\'e 
referred  to  the  Association  as  an  ao-ency  to  direct  young*  women  who  have  come  under  their 
observation.  The  work  |)lanned  originally  for  foreign  young  women  is  now  being  appre- 
ciated by  those  of  the 
country,  and  two  Span- 
ish speaking  secretaries 
are  em])loyed  in  the  work 
for  Spanish  speaking 
women. 


Difficulties 


Being  a city  of  rapid 
growth  and  up-to-date 
l)rogress,  Buenos  Aires  is 
also  a city  of  high  ])rices, 
and  the  Young  Women’s 
Christian  Association  was 
forced  to  begin  in  a small 
way  with  rooms  for  only 
six  or  eight  boarders, 
but  the  growth  has  been 


Cooking  Class— Ten  Nationalities 


steady  and  today  it  occupies  a liouse  of  thirty-four  rooms  whicli  will  accommodate  thirty- 
three  residents  and  a number  of  transient  o’uests.  The  bud<?et  for  the  present  year 
involves  an  ex])enditure  of  $*26,000  (gold),  Avhich  is  raised  in  Buenos  Aires,  the  supi^ort  of 
the  American  secretaries  only  being  supplied  by  America. 

Activities 

The  membership  of  the  Association  includes  550  women  and  subscribers.  There  is 
a regular  Sunday  afternoon  meeting,  as  well  as  a large  group  who  belong  to  the  daily  Bible 
Reading  League.  Evening  classes  are  difficult  because  the  young  women  find  it  inconvenient 
to  be  away  from  home  in  the  evening.  Classes  in  Spanish,  in  cooking,  in  English,  French, 
and  First  Aid,  constitute  the  educational  Avork,  Avhile  an  em])loyment  agency  received  over 
1,000  ajiplications  from  employers  and  employees  during  the  past  year.  The  noon  lunch, 
meeting  the  needs  of  the  young  Avomen  from  the  shops,  has  groAAm  to  a clientele  of  over 
one  hundred.  A larger  staff  of  secretaries  is  greatly  needed  for  the  groAA’ing  AAork  and  a 
])ermanent  building  in  the  near  future  is  imperative. 


National  Board 

Young  Woaiens  Christian  Association  of  the  United  States 
600  Lexington  Avenue,  Neav  York  Cita' 

1914 


